I remember when people asked Tolkien, who is Tom Bombadil, he said that there should always be something in a story which is a mystery to even the author, Maybe that is what Nakomi is too

This is what I've been thinking too.  Just something tossed in there to show that even once the story's done, there will always be mysteries and unexplained things in the world.

That, though I do like the theory mentioned earlier about how she's Egwyne's counterpart from the previous turning of the wheel, and the next time the third age rolls around, it will be a mysterious figure named Egwyne who does what she does.

 

 

Am I the only one who found the whole anti-Balefire thing to be a bit of an ass-pull?

Not likely, however I will argue in its defense.

 

Consider "Belief and order give strength." The italicized portion, order gives strength, is one way of describing the strength of crystal structures. Even if it was BS's addition, I feel as if it fits merely to continue the theme of balance. A weave to fray the Pattern (increasing entropy/chaos) and a weave to restore it (decreasing entropy/chaos).

I can buy her weave putting the crystal scabs on the fissures being caused by all the balefire.

I can buy that beam hitting Taim's balefire and cancelling each other out.

But the bit about how the beam would kill only those who had turned to the shadow? Sorry, bit too much of a stretch.

Also, it has been mentioned several times that all angreal and sa'angreal have buffers that prevent overdrawing, with Callandor being the notable exception. The part where Egwyne dies has a throwaway line to say that the sa'angreal she's using also lacks that buffer. You'd think this would have come into play or at least been mentioned in all the times in this book and the last one it was being used. Again, bit of an ass-pull.

Am I the only one who found the whole anti-Balefire thing to be a bit of an ass-pull?

The past several years, I haven't been as heavily into the series as I used to be. Winter's Heart was the last book that really held my interest, ever since then I've just been wanting it to wrap up.

Still, now that it's older, a sliver of my life that's been there for the past 20-ish years is now empty. All things come to an end, but I do still feel a bit melancholy about it.

As for the book itself.

Demandred being the ultimate badass did seem a little bit forced to me. But I can understand why, after being the mysterious figure the whole time that he's been, he needed to be a little bit over the top to make up for all the hype. Same thing with the Sharans. His being there the whole time wasn't -that- much a suprise, but mostly because after decades of speculating it was one of the only places that made that much sense. Less of a shock than who killed Asmodean.

I really don't like the whole notion about how a world without Shai'tan would be such a hollow and dead world. It was said many times that the pattern contained both good and evil, and that the Dark Lord was an outside influence warping and twisting it. Without that influence, there would still be good and evil in the world. Destroying him would have hardly led to such a desolate world that was implied, if anything it would be setting the world on course free from outside influence. After all the build up about how certain things were new to the pattern and had never happened before (ie Fain, Rand's face to face showdown with the Great Lord), I was looking forward to the dark one being destroyed and the world allowed to move forward free from it's neverending cycle. I do feel a bit let down about this, as I did with the ending of Stephen King's Dark Tower. For all the pain, suffering, death and destruction, nothing was solved, only delayed until it repeats again.

So many of the main characters starting to drop dead, while understandable given the scope of the Last Battle, did start to lose some of its impact after a bit. Felt more like certain characters were just being thrown away for the sake of it. Suian's death for one felt like a "She's more or less expendable, kill her to up the danger factor".

Bela died. She died a decade ago, the fans have just been beating her this whole time.

Chapter 37. Holy god Chapter 37. 200 pages to a single chapter? Guess which chapter I found myself on when it was late, work in the AM, and I was in "Soon as this chapter's done I'm going to bed" mode. I know how big a deal it was, but seriously, it couldn't have been split up?

Aside from those, I'm still satisfied with the book. Sanderson might not have been able to do it the same as the way RJ would have, but he still did it as well as anyone else could have. There were a few parts that could have been done better, but on the whole I still think it was the appropriate conclusion to this saga.

The last paragraph to the novel had already been predicted on these forums somewhere, but it was still the perfect way to close it off. RJ, I may have been frustrated as hell with you towards the end of your run, but despite that you still made a world that will be a part of me forever, and for that, I thank you.

Regardless of Perrin's insanity or not, he was being accosted by a foreign military group, one that was pretty well known for kidnapping people, holding kangaroo courts regarding their darkfriend status, and oftentimes accompanied with torture and execution. I don't think it's a far stretch to believe that someone would believe they would need to resort to extreme force in order to protect themselves.

 

If someone living in the southern part of the US finds themselves being accosted by members of a Mexican Drug Cartel, known for kidnapping and executing people who interfere, or are even merely accused of interfering, with the drug cartel's operations, and that person defends themselves with force and kills one or more members of the cartel, would they be guilty of murder by US laws if it takes place on US soil?

yes but your conveniently avoiding the fact that Perrin knew nothing about teh WC's! that is why no matter what it dont matter, he was unprovoked in attack. if your hiding out in the dark, and a group of people ask you to come out repeatedly, then jump out and attack them your in the wrong no matter what

Not so much conveniently avoiding, as much as it's been a long time since I read that passage and don't remember the specifics. Was Perrin ignorant as to the Whitecloaks and their reputation? Did he know who the Whitecloaks were but not know that these guys were Whitecloaks?

And if Aspar is correct, they did threaten to kill him if he didn't surrender. That's not -entirely- unprovoked.

Regardless of Perrin's insanity or not, he was being accosted by a foreign military group, one that was pretty well known for kidnapping people, holding kangaroo courts regarding their darkfriend status, and oftentimes accompanied with torture and execution. I don't think it's a far stretch to believe that someone would believe they would need to resort to extreme force in order to protect themselves.

If someone living in the southern part of the US finds themselves being accosted by members of a Mexican Drug Cartel, known for kidnapping and executing people who interfere, or are even merely accused of interfering, with the drug cartel's operations, and that person defends themselves with force and kills one or more members of the cartel, would they be guilty of murder by US laws if it takes place on US soil?

The lack of a strong editor. This thing really should have been finished in 8 books.

This. Too much fluff and padding got left in that should have ended up on the cutting room floor.

Overly elaborate descriptions of what every person in such and such a scene is wearing that has no basis on the plot, or being reminded how Saidar, Saidin, angreals, circles, and whatnot work several times each book.

Entire plotlines that either dragged out much much farther than they needed to be (Fail's captivity) or cut entirely with an alternative plotline that would have resolved in a chapter or two (Elayne taking the throne).

And just the sheer amount of unnecessary fluff like bath scenes, washing silk, and sifting weevils.

The first six books were more or less decently edited, though many of those could have stood to use a good chunk cut. Everything between books 7 and 10 could have been compressed to a single book if all the extra garbage had been cut. The only reason Sanderson had to split up book 12 into three more is because of all the extra garbage that RJ left for him to have to resolve.

I always interpreted Mat's reaction as him basically knowing they had a whole army of mooks after them, knew they had to escape quickly, and knew there was no time to marvel over the fact that Noal was Jaim. The "oh, you're Jain Farstrider. Thx for sacrificing yourself. Yup, I'll tell Lan. See ya!" might have seemed out of place if the revalation was over a campfire and coffee, but in the circumstances, when they knew they were in imminent danger, it seemed to fit just fine.

Delving for ore did seem to be portrayed as an incredibly rare talent, rare enough that it's likely that Egwyne would have been the only one amongst the SAS with that ability.  And with the tower civil war approaching and everything else going on, I'm sure that the Amyrlin Seat had better things to do than to go prospecting.

They stop existing... world over, "Game over man, Game over!"

Do the Chosen not know this or are they working so hard to stop existing?

I think it's been established that none of the Chosen know it, that they expect to be rulers of the world once the Dark One "remakes it in his image" or whatnot.

Moridin is I think the only one who knows that everything ends, and accepts it because he sees life as the same futile struggle that Rand saw it as when Rand almost destroyed the world.  He went to the Dark Side so that he could rule and have power until the world stopped existing.

At least, that's my interpretation of it.

Yes, they go to Seanchan. They Travelled from a blitzed town called Eianrod in Carhein.

The Blight exists in the Northern part of every landmass. It's like the Arctic Circle - anywhere which is North of a certain latitutde, there's the Blight.

 

Hmm. Thanks a bunch. I wonder if Avi can emotionally remember that spot. Since there was snow I think it is safe to assume it is in the north of Seanchan thus near Seandar. So they have a way of travleing to there in the next book... xD

 

The other idea is just wondering whether the Blight is like some sort of...ughm...I am not too sure how to call it in English but...Well we have a

Northern Ice Cap

Arctic Climate

Sub Arctic

Moderate

Sub Tropical

Tropical

Equatorial

Tropical

Subtropical

Moderate

Sub Arctic

Arctic

Southern Ice Cap

 

If the Blight is a part of such a cycle then we will also have a blight where the island of madmen is supposed to be ^^ Just a thought.

If I'm not mistaken, though, the Blight is the Blight because of it's location in relation to Shayol Ghul, not beacause of it's lattitude.  I suppose it's possible that the Dark One has some sort of blight-like touch on the Isle of Madmen that makes them madmen, but I personally don't think that it's the reason you mentioned.

Isn't Dreamwalking a skill that one can have, sorta like Min's viewing. And Dreaming an OP-related thing? Rather than titles that the WO or the WT grant?

To my understanding, Dreamwalking (one's conciousness being able to enter and to some extent manipulate TAR) is a skill that someone either has or they don't, but under the right circumstances they can learn how to do it.  I don't think that it's related to the OP though.  Unless I'm misremembering, just about all the Wise Ones can dreamwalk and enter TAR, but not all of them can channel.  I may be mistaken, of course.

Dreaming (foretelling via dreams) I think is an ability that someone either has or they don't.  It may be related to the OP, in that just about everyone in the series we've seen who can either fortell or dream has been a channeler, but it's not closely related enough to the power that one can learn a weave to duplicate it's effect.  It may be possible that someone who can't channel might be able to fortell or dream (aside from Min's thing), but if it is possible, we haven't seen it.

  There are alot of prophecies out there that are expected to be fulfilled in ToM.

 

Bear in mind that BS has said that there are going to be some number of prophecies that will remain unfulfilled by the time the last book is written and the series ends.  Yes, some have to be fulfilled, but we may never know just what the "blade of light, three are one" refers to if it refers to something after the last battle.

 

I would imagine the Blade of Light would be someone using Callandor with 2 women to guide it. What blade shines like a beacon, when being used. Callandor of course. Whether it'll be Rand using it is still suspect.

Which, doesn't necessarily have to happen before the last battle.  Not that I'm saying that this is what happens, I just picked a random prophecy that people are debating about back and forth that could very well happen after the books are over.

so if the proohacies are never to be fulfilled how will Rand be able to win?  Hence this proves that the DO wins in the end!!!!!!!

 

 

HALP MEEEEEEEEEE

I didn't say the prophecies are never to be fulfilled, just that they might be fulfilled after the last battle and after the books are over.  Remember the scene near the end of TGS where the AS are commenting about how they know they must win because some of Min's viewings could only happen after they win the last battle.  Who knows which prophecies we're discussing fall into the same line as these viewings.

   There are alot of prophecies out there that are expected to be fulfilled in ToM.

Bear in mind that BS has said that there are going to be some number of prophecies that will remain unfulfilled by the time the last book is written and the series ends.  Yes, some have to be fulfilled, but we may never know just what the "blade of light, three are one" refers to if it refers to something after the last battle.

Did Rand ever tell anyone specifically that he used the True Power, or just 'i killed them' and then go about banishing caddy to the far reaches of his peripheral?

LTT obviously knew what the True Power was, and mentioned it a bit amongst the ramblings when Rand used it against Semi and Elza, as well as a few other times I believe when Rand was wrestling between it and the CK.

So Rand should have been able to guess that it was -something- other than the One Power from LTT's ramblings, but if he didn't, depending on the extent of what he knows of LTT's memories after his 'love is the answer' epiphany on the Dragonmount, he should know from that.  But aside from that, I doubt that anyone's sat down with him and told him "What you used is the TP, this is what it does", since the only people who would know are the Forsaken.